Antibacterial activity and phytochemical screening of ethanolic extracts obtained from selected Sudanese medicinal plants

Selected plants (8 species) having a history of use in Sudanese traditional medicine for the treatment of infectious diseases were investigated for antibacterial activity in vitro. Phytochemical screening of these plants was performed for constituents: alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, anthraquinones, saponins and volatile oils. Moisture, ash, crude fibres and soluble ethanol extractive contents have been carried out. The antibacterial screening of the ethanol extracts of the selected plants was performed by the agar well diffusion method against clinical isolates Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa). All the eight ethanolic extracts showed good activity against four tested bacteria. The activity of the Cymbopogon schoenathus spp. proximus aerial parts,Cymbopogon nervatus inflorescence and Cassia occidentalis seed extracts w ere more pronounced. The results of the antibacterial activity screening support the ethno medical uses of these plants. Further studies on the isolation and characterization of the Cymbopogon schoenathus spp. proximus and Cymbopogon nervatus, partially or totally responsible for the observed antibacterial properties in progress.